Montgomery County in Pictures

Local News

Students from Damascus High School were in panic mode Friday after an old social media threat against Damascus students had been reposted to social media sometime around noon.
“Everyone that goes to Dmas gtfo of there,” a Damascus student’s Instragram post read.
“not sure if everyone is awre but there’s apparently a kill list out and a threat to shoot up damascus. if you’re there, leave now. please be safe. ______ was apparently the one who made it,” another post read.
However, a 12:08 p.m. letter with a “Damascus High” logo titled “Rumor of a threat at DHS” was sent out to parents and guardians stating there was no real threat to students.
“We have had several parents and students reach out today to make the school aware of information regarding [a] threat to the school. We have reviewed the information and investigated and there is no credible threat to our school at this time. Students are safe and learning in our building,” an excerpt of the communication stated.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel responded Thursday evening to a 911 report of a man and a woman found dead in Burtonsville; they will be transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore and will undergo a scheduled autopsy Friday, a Montgomery County Police spokesman said.
A resident called 911 at approximately 9:56 p.m. Thursday after discovering the bodies in a parked car – with the engine still running – in a townhouse parking lot on Aldora Circle. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel responded to the scene and confirmed the two occupants of the vehicle were deceased.

Police arrested Clarksburg HS student Alwin Chen, 18, for bringing a loaded handgun to school. COURTESY PHOTO One day after a former student shot and killed 17 people at his Florida high school, Montgomery County Police arrested an 18-year-old Clarksburg High School student for bringing a loaded handgun and knife to school.
A Montgomery County Police school resource officer arrested Alwin Chen at approximately 2:20 p.m. Thursday after police and school security confiscated two weapons Chen had in his possession, according to a Montgomery County Police press release.
Chen became the focus of police and school security interest after the police officer based at Clarksburg received a tip that Chen may have brought a gun with him to school.

Northwest High School. COURTESY PHOTO
Montgomery County Police charged a 15-year-old male student with “offenses relating to disrupting school operations” Friday after they worked with the high school’s staff to identify…

GAITHERSBURG — The members of Gaithersburg’s Board of Supervisors of Elections discussed the past and future of the city’s electoral processes at the City Council meeting Monday night.
Mayor Jud Ashman…

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State News

Maryland’s controversial state song – “Maryland, My Maryland” – could soon go the way of eight-track tapes and cassettes if a number of state legislators get their way.
The Civil War-era battle hymn, which makes reference to “Northern scum,” takes its lyrics from a poem written in the early days of the conflict by James Ryder Randall, and with verses like “Thou wilt not cower in the dust, Maryland! Thy beaming sword shall never rust,” gained popularity with Confederate troops before being adopted as the official state song.
One proposal for changing the song is SB0790, sponsored by State Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D) of District 17. Kagan has been pushing to change the state song since 2016, and introduced her bill to “repeal and replace” the current song, which she called “embarrassing and dated and racist,” last week.

Independent candidate Neal Simon announces his bid for the U.S. Senate, challenging incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin (D). PHOTO BY GLYNIS KAZANJIAN A Potomac businessman fed up with partisan politics and a divided country entered the U.S. Senate race this week, backed by a national independent grassroots organization determined to break up the gridlock in Washington by robbing both political parties of their majority.
Bronfman Rothschild CEO and Principal Neal Simon announced his candidacy, after a short exploratory period, in a boutique hotel Tuesday in downtown Rockville, surrounded by about 50 of his friends, family and supporters.
“I’m here today because I believe we should have elected officials who put the best interests of their country ahead of the best interests of their political party,” Simon said. “We are forced to watch as our parties selfishly chip away at our sense of community to drag us deeper into debt without addressing our society’s key economic and social problems.
“Our leaders have stopped working together, stopped listening to each other and they’ve stopped listening to the concerns of working people,” Simon said. “We have a country where Congress works on behalf of special interests while failing to invest in the future of...

Laura Wallen's family with Sen. Justin Ready and Del. Trent Kittleman in Annapolis. PHOTO BY GLYNIS KAZANJIANWhen the father of a slain Olney woman found out the man accused of killing his pregnant daughter would only be charged with one count of murder, instead of two, he said he was shocked.
“It wasn’t going to count,” Mark Wallen said of his daughter Laura’s unborn child’s death. “Justice was not going to be done for my grandson. The law now says the life of my grandson doesn’t even exist.”
Under current state law, charges of murder or manslaughter for an unborn child can only be brought against a person if a fetus is considered “viable” outside of the mother’s womb.
Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy charged Laura Wallen’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Tyler Tessier, 33, of Damascus, with one count of murder last October. Wallen was 14 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, according to the state’s chief medical examiner who conducted an autopsy. She was having a boy, whom she planned to name “Reid.”

A new Maryland law requiring homeowners to update smoke alarms in their homes went into effect Jan. 1.
The law, originally passed in 2013, requires homeowners replace battery-operated smoke alarms with…

Columns

I know we are in the middle of winter, but I didn't want to let this issue escape my scrutiny. Besides, it is sunny in West Palm Beach, Florida.Remember during the presidential campaign of 2016 how often candidate Trump complained about how many times his predecessor took time off to play golf? Quite a bit as I recall. I also recall quite vividly candidate Trump promising not to play golf if elected because there is so much to do there won't be enough time to play golf.He stated over and over again how he will be working, not playing. How he would “stay in the White House and work his ass off.” He accused his predecessor of playing more rounds of golf than Tiger Woods, than the players on the PGA tour. Quite a difference between promises made during a campaign and the reality after election. Especially when it comes to golf and the presidency and Donald J. Trump!Now for some of that post-election reality as it relates to golf and vacation days as a whole. Reality: Donald J. Trump during his first year in office took five times more vacation days than his predecessor Barack H. Obama.

Turns out the President of the United States may not be a misogynist after all. He’s a misanthrope.There is little else to conclude after the events of the past week.It began with the breaking news that White House Staff Secretary for President Donald Trump, Rob Porter, apparently beat two of his ex-wives.The information came to light when the FBI investigated Porter to give him security clearance. The story, complete with pictures of one of his wives with a black eye made the rounds and the White House began spinning like a turbo-charged child’s top.

Gang violence isn’t new in Montgomery County. It isn’t new anywhere in the country.It is dangerous and serious, but the federal government has never been particularly good about dealing with the problem and the Trump administration is particularly inept in its ability to deal with one particular gang - MS-13.The gang has been active for at least a decade and a half in Montgomery County and has been responsible for some horrible crimes, particularly in the immigrant community.John Cronan, an assistant attorney general said Tuesday the Trump administration will not protect immigrants who come forward to testify against MS-13 members - particularly otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants who fear deportation.

Sports

BETHESDA — Miles English scored a game-high 21 points Friday to lead the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons varsity boys basketball team to a 63-40 win over the visiting Richard Montgomery Rockets on Senior Night.
English, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, was an integral force for the Barons who closed out the regular season with an 18-2 record.
“He’s pretty much been the backbone of this team all year,” said B-CC head coach Sean Tracy. “He does everything. He’s just one of those guys that you tell him to do something he goes out and executes.”

Springbrook’s Cameron Rucker (21) cleanly blocks this shot by Malik Raheem (32) of Blake. PHOTO BY JACQUI SOUTH SILVER SPRING — The visiting Springbrook Blue Devils varsity boys basketball team ended the regular season on a high note as they dispatched the Blake Bengals 85-56 and senior guard Matthew Balanc scored his 1000th point.
But for every high there is a low: shortly after making his milestone bucket, Balanc exited the game at the start of the third quarter with an unspecified injury and did not return.
The scrappy Bengals squad held up tonight against a strong Blue Devils squad. Blake came in with a losing record of 8-13, while Springbrook entered with an impressive 17-4 record.
Blue Devils senior forward Cameron Rucker started the game with a three-pointer, to which Bengals sophomore guard Raef Hetherington responded with a three-point bucket of his own.

Gaithersburg's Jordan Hawkins blocks Churchill's Valvin Piker's drive to basket. PHOTO BY MIKE CLARK POTOMAC — The visiting Gaithersburg Trojans varsity boys basketball team ended the regular season with a bang Friday when the Trojans strode into the Dawg Pound and handed the Churchill Bulldogs their 12th loss of the season, 90-56.
The Trojans proved their prowess on both sides of the ball as the defense forced multiple turnovers and beat the Bulldogs on the defensive boards. Freshman guards Jordan Hawkins (26 points) and Jao Ituka (18 points) continued their season-long campaign of highlight reel plays that gave Gaithersburg a comfortable lead for most of the evening.
The Trojans began to pull away after an 18-point unanswered scoring run lasted into the beginning of the second quarter. Churchill’s student section, the Dawg Pound, was uncharacteristically quiet as they watched Hawkins steal the ball during a fast break and take it back up the court for an easy two points.
The Bulldogs appeared renewed in the second half as junior guards John Mbeng and Michael Janis combined for 14 third-quarter points that cut into Gaithersburg’s substantial halftime lead.

Features

PHOTO OF “BAIE ST. PAUL CREEK by Leni BerlinerLocal artist Leni Berliner did some painting as a high school student many years ago, and like most student artists, she laid down her brushes after graduation. But with the new millennium came what she called "a very difficult time" in her personal and professional life, the burden of which her mother sought to alleviate with a gift.
“My mother gave me the gift of drawing and painting classes at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in D.C.," Berliner said.
The classes reawakened a passion for painting and led her to rediscover and cultivate that talent.

“Woman Cleaning Shower” by Ramiro Gomez from National Portrait Gallery exhibit on work. COURTESY PHOTO “The Sweat of their Face: Portraying American Workers,” an exhibit on view at the National Portrait Gallery, contains well-known, even iconic, images.
These include “Power House Mechanic,” a black-and-white photograph by Lewis Hine; “The Miner,” an oil painting by Pat Lyon; “American Gothic,” by Gordon Parks, oil on beaver wood; “Mine America’s Coal,” by Norman Rockwell, “Cotton Pickers,” oil, by Winslow Homer, and “Migrant Mother,” a print by Dorothea Lange.
Other images are less known and even surprising, such as daguerreotypes by Joseph T. Zealy of semi-dressed slaves. Richard Avedon, best known for his work with celebrities and fashion icons, portrays migrant workers in a series of photographs.
But co-curators Dorothy Moss and David C. Ward are hoping that regardless of the individual images, viewers understand the exhibit’s goal.

A past production of Maryland Youth Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” with Justin Metcalf-Burton and Maya Beeman. COURTESY PHOTOMaryland Youth Ballet can boast of many illustrious alumni.
Walk along the hallways of the ballet school, headquartered in downtown Silver Spring since 2006 (after a long sojourn in Bethesda), and you’ll see photographs of some notable faces.
Michelle Lees, the school’s artistic director, points them out: Julie Kent, a longtime principal of American Ballet Theatre, who was recently appointed the artistic director of the Washington Ballet; Susan Jaffe, a former dancer and ballet mistress at ABT and now Dean of the School of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem; and Garen Price Scribner and Allison Walsh, who both appeared in the Broadway musical “An American in Paris.”
However, at Maryland Youth Ballet, the emphasis is on both the present and future.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie spoke at Gaithersburg High School on Sept. 26, as part of the One Maryland, One Book program. COURTESY PHOTO GAITHERSBURG — Award-winning and world-renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi…

Cast members rehearse for the Open Circle Theatre Retrospective. COURTESY PHOTO Rob McQuay’s formal theater experience began in junior high.
He acted through high school and college, then trained at Studio…

Northwest High School. COURTESY PHOTO
Montgomery County Police charged a 15-year-old male student with “offenses relating to disrupting school operations” Friday after they worked with the high school’s staff to identify...

Tyler Terry died Sunday at Children’s National Medical Center almost two weeks after collapsing during a planned physical fight at a Gaithersburg basketball court. COURTESY PHOTO Montgomery County Police are working…

Federation confronts school system over sex abuse cases
Montgomery County Public Schools officials are up in arms following a contentious meeting of the Montgomery County Civic Federation last month, during which…

WASHINGTON — Metro’s Inspector General Geoffrey Cherrington wants to take steps to ensure his office’s independence from Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority management, and he has some ideas as to…

TAKOMA PARK — City officials were caught off guard after Washington Adventist Hospital officials relayed their intention on Tuesday, to potentially close critical medical facilities in the city.
“The City Council…